The Blue Underground DVD is the first anamorphic release in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 (both the anamorphic BU and the non-anamorphic Troma releases feature more balanced compositions than the Medusa English and Italian language versions which have been cropped to 1.78:1 for 16:9 enhancement even though the back cover says they are presented 1.66:1 16:9). It has a warmer color balance (I prefer the colors on the Italian disc) and is slightly grainier but the Italian disc is said to have been heavily noise reduced which is why it looks smoother. The BU disc evinces texture in the closeups of paintings that is absent from the smoother presentation. It is also slightly darker (see cap 2). There is a muffled audio pop at : that is present on all of the tracks as well as those of the other discs which must be an error in the original recording.

Although the English version on the Medusa disc times 20 seconds longer than the PAL-converted Medusa print, the only difference seems to be that the newer master for the English version features the Italian end credits instead of the English ones on the previous master. Unlike the Troma and Blue Underground discs, the Medusa disc of the English version only features the 5.1 remix of the English track which was originally stereo surround. Despite the running time, the bitrate is lower on the English version to facilitate the inclusion of extras on the second disc.

While the Blue Underground extras are more extensive, it is unfortunate that the Asia Argento interview and the "On the Set" featurette were not included as it features the shooting of some scenes with the actors performing in English in their original voices (none of the extras on the Medusa set have English subtitles although they have been provided for both the Italian and English language versions of the film itself).

Initially released on VHS by Troma Team (who somehow acquired theatrical and video rights once Miramax decided not to do anything with it after fears that they would alter it for US release), it was then announced as a special edition DVD with English and Italian audio and English and Italian commentary tracks by Dario Argento and was delayed multiple times and eventually released in a disc that was feature packed (minus commentaries) but unsatisfying visually and in terms of supplements.

The running time of the first title set is 1:55:36 but the first 2:36 are an introduction by Troma President Lloyd Kauffman followed by the Troma Team logo and the RAI Trade logo. The 1:53:00 running time reflects the PAL-converted running time of the English language version which is almost minutes shorter than the Italian version. A scene of Anna calling the husband of one of Alfredo's victims and the scene where Anna meets Marie's mother after his death was not dubbed into English and only appears in the Italian cut and Blue Underground's composite version as mentioned above (Veronica Lazar's credit as Marie's mother does appear in the English language end credits).

While the disc is glutted with Troma's usual mostly unrelated and somewhat tasteless extras (though one has to commend them for making full use of disc space and interactive DVD capabilities from the very start of the medium), the AV presentation of STENDHAL SYNDROME was respectful for the time of the DVDs release with an OAR 1.66:1 image and a nice stereo surround track bearing in mind that the early video master put out by Medusa was always less than optimal (apparently the 35mm prints that made the festival, college, and film market rounds were not much better - the Dutch DVD looked similar while the French DVD was anamorphic but from the same master and not much sharper).

Of the three discs reviewed, the oldest Troma has the best menus with Morricone's main theme, motion artwork, and melting transitions using sound effects from the film.

 -Eric Cotenas